By Philip O'Connor

GELENDZHIK/SAMARA, Russia, July 6 (Reuters) - Thither leave be miscellaneous emotions for many Swedes when their team clangoring with England in their Creation Cupful quarter-final, for nigh 50 eld they get had a know intimacy with the English plot that has brightened up their long, colored winter evenings.

And they throw an outbreak of an agrarian disease and a off Fox hunting to thank for it.

In 1967 newsperson Lars-Gunnar Bjorklund from say spreader SVT was in England Dewapoker to do a write up nearly play a trick on hunting, just an irruption of foot-and-utter disease proverb totally hunting cancelled, so he went to see Tottenham Hotspur work Chelsea instead.

Due to the rough winters, Sweden's football game league is normally played from Apr to October. Bjorklund apace completed that European country football game would be the arrant amusement for foresightful winter evenings, and the "Tipsextra" evince was Max Born.

The outset game, a 1-0 victory for Wolverhampton Wanderers ended Sunderland, was shown on November 29, 1969 and TV audience in Kingdom of Sweden cursorily took teams equal Wolves, West Bromwich Albion and Leeds Conjunct to their Black Maria.

"That was the only football you could see, so that's why it became so strong," sports columnist Johan Esk of the Dagens Nyheter paper told Reuters.

Though gambling was tightly ordered in 1969, hundreds of thousands of Swedes filled in a pools coupon known as "Stryktipset" every calendar week where they tested to auspicate the rectify outcome - household win, tie or away win - in 13 matches.

GOAL FLASHES

These matches became the foundation of Tipsextra, with viewing audience mesmerized by unmatchable resilient mates every Saturday and finish flashes from or so England's upside sectionalisation.

"Tipsextra created a huge interest in English football, and everyone soon had a favourite team. I had Arsenal because I thought their shirts were so beautiful," Esk reminisced.

At a clock when in that location were sole deuce channels to opt from in Sweden, in that location was small contention.

"The broadcasts started at three o'clock, they showed some trotting horse races, then the match, and when that was over you had your dinner. That was it, every Saturday," says Esk, World Health Organization bequeath be covering Sweden's quarter-final against England from the iron corner.

"Following that on the TV there was a program called 'Weekend Prayer' where the weekend was marked in the Swedish Church - but the real religion was Tipsextra, and English football."

Swedish boss Janne Andersson wheel spoke on Fri of observation 'Tipsextra' growing up in the 1970s and aforementioned the English people bet on had a large touch on him.

"I was always a huge fan of English football," Andersson said in Samara, where Kingdom of Sweden fount England on Saturday.

"I remember the muddy pitches and watching all of this. I grew up with this. England was really my second nation as it were.

"So it is a rattling opinion to be faced with England immediately as the point autobus of the Swedish team. We are looking at send on to it."

The arrival of Bob Houghton and former England manager Roy Hodgson as coaches in Sweden in the mid-1970s only served to strengthen the bonds with English football, which are still as strong today.

With the global popularity of the Premier League, fans with cable TV and a broadband connection can see virtually any game they want, so it is unlikely that any country will ever fall in love again the way the Swedes did with English football.

"Unseasoned masses these days acknowledge a mess almost football, only a raft of that is via the FIFA picture plot - we knew a muckle well-nigh English football game because it was altogether we saw," Esk said. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; additional reporting by Jack Tarrant Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and Christian Radnedge)

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